We look over Jon’s shoulder as the fire sweeps toward the throne ― not the target of Drogon’s wrath, just a dumb bystander caught up in the conflagration. We look through the blades of the throne as the flames engulf it, and blast the wall behind it. We see the throne in the flames, turning red, then white, then beginning to lose its form. We get tight shots of the details melting in silhouette: the armrests, the iconic fan of swords on the backrest. The fire stops. The smoke clears revealing a puddle of smouldering slag where the throne once stood. Who will sit on the Iron Throne? No one.

So, the throne was “just a dumb bystander caught up in the conflagration” ― and not the true target of Drogon’s wrath.

Case solved, although the revelation may not appease those fans who have lobbied for the final season to be rewritten via a viral Change.org petition that has secured more than 1.7 million signatures.

HBO programming president Casey Bloys on Wednesday put the calls for a season do-over to bed once and for all, however.